A Nightmare in Jump City
by Forsaken and Darklost
Summary: Raven was kidnappend by the new Brother Blood, leading to Robin's death upon her rescue. But the after-effects of Robin's death had given birth to a vengeful killer, one the likes the world has never seen. Jump City will never rest peacefully again...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Rightful claims belong to DC Comics/Cartoon Network and Wes Craven/New Line Cinema.

A/N: Okay, this one is probably the most bizarre idea I've ever come up with in my overactive mind. After watching the brand-new movie "A Nightmare on Elm Street" I started to watch the old version, and the more I got to thinking about Freddy's abilities...the more I got to wonder what would happen if someone else had those abilities and what would they do with them. Well, here it is...and I'll warn everyone now, this will contain heavy gore and violence and adult content, so if you have a weak stomach, or don't care for such gruesome things: STOP READING NOW! This will be my only warning, if you continue to read on, then that's on you.

Now as one of my favorite poltergeist's would say: _**"It's Showtime!"**_

* * *

_**The Beginning of Terror**_

Leaving from the hospital, was a girl with lavender colored hair in a wheelchair being pushed gently by a tall, massive teenager that looked mostly made of metal, gazed blankly at nothing. The metallic companion wheeled her over to a silver-bluish car that was waiting for them. The companion silently picked the girl out of her chair and seated her in the passenger seat and buckled her in before he folded up the wheelchair and returned it to the hospital staff. He quickly returned to the car and wordlessly started driving back to their home. The drive was long and slow until they finally reached their destination; a small island just off the coast of Jump City. When they stopped and parked inside the Vehicle Bay, the companion started to unbuckle himself, but then stopped and placed a large, metal hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Raven, I know you've stopped talking since...well, since the incident. But you got to let it go. There was nothing you could do to stop it...We all tried to help him but it was just too late," said Cyborg.

Raven turned her head slowly and gave him a blank, dead stare.

Cyborg sighed and retracted his hand and finished unbuckling his seat-belt. Raven remained seated in the T-Car, just staring at the dash board. Cyborg waited for her to move, but she showed no sign. Sighing more, he opened the passenger door and unbuckled her and gently tugged on her until she got on her own feet and started walking with him. He stayed by her side the whole way up the tower to her room, there she actually started to show a bit more life and stormed into her room and slammed the door shut.

Cyborg shook his head sadly and rubbed his bald head in worry for her. He glanced down the hall and spotted a familiar head full of red hair peeking out from her room. He waved her over, and she floated out of her room and over to him.

"What did the doctors say about Raven's condition?" asked Starfire.

"They said she's still suffering from post-trauma from the whole incident. Can't say I blame her, I mean, it's been two months since...since," Cyborg looked away to hide the tears falling from his remaining human eye.

Starfire wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as she too began to cry. "I still cannot believe that he is gone, either. I still...I still can feel his arms around me!"

Cyborg quickly led her away from Raven's room, not wishing for her to hear their grief, not when her own was heavier than all of theirs. He led her back to her own room and they both sat on her bed, holding each other as they cried away their sorrow.

"Why, Cyborg? Why did Robin have to die?" cried Starfire, burying her face against his armor -plated chest.

He patted her back and held her close to him. "He did it to save Raven. He sacrificed himself to stop that damn new Brother Blood."

"X'Hal...He was a monster...a real living monster!" mourned Starfire, balling her hands into fists. "What he did to Raven...it was wrong!

"I know, Star. Let's not talk about it now," said Cyborg. "Raven doesn't need us talking or acting like this. She needs us to be her friends right now, and only that."

"But shouldn't we talk about it with her? Is that what we as her friends should do?" replied Starfire mournfully.

"The therapist said that it's not a good idea for..." He closed his human eye tightly as he literally had to force the vile word out of his mouth. "...raped victims to talk about it until some time and when they want to start talking about it." He grinded his teeth for a brief moment, then opened a glaring eye. "I swear we're gonna make the new Brother Blood pay for this. Someday, I'll make him pay!"

Starfire began weeping again, even louder.

* * *

Raven laid stoically on her bed, curled up in a tight ball and hugging herself. She could still remember every detail of the incident, his touch, his smell, his strength. It surrounded her like a disgusting moss that made her skin feel unbearable. There was only one thing that had kept her from losing herself, and that was Robin. He had saved her from the new, crueler Brother Blood. He came to her aid before he could finish his...dirty deed, and wrapped her in his warm arms, making her feel safe; if only for a brief moment before his blood suddenly splashed over most of her body, and then her world came crashing down hard. She blanked out after that and when she awoke, she found herself in Jump Hospital, covered in bandages and doctors murmuring over her about her rape.

They talked so plainly about it, like it was nothing. Like it didn't matter.

She hated how they talked to her when she regained consciousness, how the nurses eyed her with pity and looked away when they were caught staring for too long. But she understood that it was normal situation for them when dealing with rape victims. She knew she wasn't the only girl in the world to be ravaged like she was, and she knew she would not be the last one they see, but still she hated feeling like the victim, like some broken piece of goods, now tainted and untouchable. Yet, she hoped that the feeling would go away. She wanted to see Robin again and feel his warm, safe arms again, telling her that she wasn't broken, she wasn't filthy. She longed to get back to him and her teammates, but only Cyborg came to her side.

She didn't have to ask him what was wrong when she saw his grimaced face. He told her that the others were preparing to transport Robin to Gotham...to be buried.

Upon hearing that, she cracked. She didn't burst out into tears or scream wildly in denial. She simply just fell into her own personal void and let it slowly eat away her spirit, leaving this hollowed, pathetic excuse of a girl behind. The doctors in their great wisdom spoke fancy words and conditions to way she was acting the way she was, but all anyone had to do was look in her eyes and see she was dead on the inside.

Brother Blood, the new, young son of the previous Brother Blood killed her and Robin.

It was all his fault and the cult that helped capture her and trap her, and then take away her innocence and robbing her of the only person that could have saved her from her inner turmoil. They were all to blame for the state she was in now, for Robin's death. Her blank eyes flared red as she sat up from her bed and waved a hand to her bookshelf. An old black text instantly floated from it and into her hand.

"They took him away from me, they used me and left me to rot away slowly...now they will pay," growled Raven savagely. She waved her hand over the book and it opened instantly to the wanted page. "I never wanted this world to suffer because of my blood...but he ruined me, he took away my reason to care."

She read the wanted content and as she did, she used her powers to pull out candles and powders and oils that she would need. She floated to the center of her room while still reading the book. The powder formed a circle around her and the candles settled at appointed spots around it, as oils which followed her inside the circle smeared gently under her eyes and over her hands and a bit under her nose, so she could inhale their fragrance for the wanted effect her body would need to aid her mind for the spell she was working rapidly on. Her mouth opened as undistinguishable words poured from it and her room darkened to near pitch black before her candles ignited and bathed her in red light.

Once she was done speaking, she took a fingernail and dug it into her palm until it bleed deeply, not at all feeling or caring for the pain.

"You wanted a bride to fulfill my father's vow to you, Brother Blood," hissed Raven as she kept digging her nail into her up-turned palm, letting the blood fill it up and pouring over it and falling freely to stain her carpet. "You wanted to mix your blood and mine to end your family's curse...but now I will use this blood to end you and any that gets in my way!"

Images of his face flashed through her mind, his smug, pale, youthful face sneering down as he had his way with her. Were it not for the gag and the drugs his cultists had used to subdue her, she would have stopped him. But that was then. Now she wished for more, she wanted him to suffer ten times more than how he made Robin suffer. The more she dived into her spell, the more she no longer cared about what he did to her. No, what swam through her vengeful mind now was the pain that he inflicted on Robin. She had no idea what he endured as no one willingly told her the extent of his death, but from her brief memory and how everyone wouldn't speak of it, she knew he was put through something horrible.

"I call upon the spirits of havoc! Answer my call and drink from my blood, the blood of my father, Trigon the Terrible!" chanted Raven.

The flames rose higher from the candles, almost blazing over her head and lighting the room in deeper crimson light. From the roaring flames, three balls of fire erupted from them and floated around the magical circle.

_**"Who daressss sssssummon ussss?" **_whispered one of the balls of fire as a grotesques face emerged and ended in a fleshy, tadpole-like tail.

"I do, the daughter of Trigon the Terrible, summon you," snapped Raven, glaring at the floating evil spirits, amazed that her spell had summoned this specific type.

_**"We have heard your ssssummonsss and asssssk why,"**_ one of the spirits asked.

"I wish to seek revenge for the wrong committed to me and someone precious to me," answered Raven, eyeing the spirits--no, demons. Now that she analyzed them more, she could feel that they were demons. "I want to make the ones responsible to pay, and pay dearly!"

_**"We can make them your dessssire happen, but we want sssssomething in return,"**_ one of the demons hissed, darting quickly at her, but not passing the circle.

"If you want my soul, you can't have it. I'm in a really pissed off mood but I'm not stupid," growled Raven.

The demons hackled madly.

_**"No, no, not your sssssoul...we want mayhem! We want to sssspread panic on this realm...will you agree to thissss?"**_ wondered one of the demons.

"So long as I see fit and that should I feel you are getting out of control or going back on our agreement, I will banish you back to where you came from, then I shall agree," answered Raven, glaring seriously at them.

The hissed darted around her faster, but then soon slowed down and started to speak in a twisted, guttural language amongst themselves.

_**"We ssssee into your ssssoul, the anger that wisssshessss to grow, but you're sssstill hampered by compasssssion!"**_ growled one of them, this one twisting around.

Another stopped and hovered at her face level. _**"We cannot do anything with you!"**_

_**"No, not her, not her! But there is one we can affect...and he'ssss watching you, daughter of Trigon!"**_ the third one said excitedly. _**"He hassssn't crossssed over yet. He'ssss waiting for you, wanting to be with you!"**_

"W-Who?" breathed Raven in wonder, her heart suddenly beating faster.

_"R-Raven..."_ a familiar, ethereal voice whispered into her mind.

"...Oh, Azar. It can't be..." uttered Raven in complete shock, her blank eyes widening and sparking with the first sign of emotion since her assault.

The demons departed from around the circle and began to form a small circle just a foot away from hers. A transparent ghostly image began to appear within this circle and Raven new this one all too well. Although, she could not clearly see his appearance as his image was more of an outline, she could sense that it was his spirit.

"Robin!" shouted out Raven.

_"R-Raven! Don't let them talk you into anything!"_ warned Robin, his voice echoing throughout the room._"I don't want you to get hurt anymore!"_

"It's too late, Robin....I-I want them to hurt. I want them to pay for killing you. They took you away from me, that bastard killed you when you saved me," mourned Raven, feeling tears fall madly down her cheeks.

_"I know, Raven. I saw it all, and more...what he did to me, it was horrible," _said Robin, running a transparent hand over his unseen face. _"But...even when I died, I could not leave. I couldn't let Brother Blood get away with what he's done. I had to stay near you, had to keep by your side and help you through the pain."_

"You were with me the whole time?" murmured Raven with raw emotion, not caring that her powers had started to bend and twist random objects in her room.

_"I stayed. Even when I was felt the call to pass on, the force that wanted me to cross over, I stayed,"_ said Robin, walking over to the edge of her circle, the demons moving with him to maintain him. _"I watched you when you slept, when you were awake. I wanted so badly to tell you it will be fine. I felt no shame or wrong given up my life for you. Know that, Raven. I gladly would do it again."_

"This isn't fair!" cried Raven, falling to her knees and clutching her head with her hands, smearing the pool of blood all over her face. "I want you back! I want you alive and them dead!"

_**"We can make it happen!"**_ one of the demons spoke while still spinning around Robin. _**"He can come back to you, but not as he once was!"**_

"What? What will he become?!" said Raven frantically.

_**"If he accepts and you bind the offer, he will be our agent! Have our powers and become forever!"**_ revealed the demon.

_"What would I have to do as your agent?"_ asked Robin, fear edged in his echoing voice.

_**"Spread fear, yes joyous fear! Become an instrument of pain and havoc!**_" it replied to him, crackling madly.

"Will he retain his freedom of will? Or will he just be your puppet to use and toy." asked Raven jaggedly, her eyes beginning to blank over, feeling herself falling once more into her personal void of despair. She could not lose him again, not to something terrible as his death, it would completely break her.

_**"We will merge with him, be one with him! His will is his alone! We only want to spread havoc and pain! We wish to see this realm in terror!"**_ said one of the demons.

The ghost of Robin watched Raven, seeing her fall once more into the depths of her inner self and knew she was losing herself. Death was supposed to have made time pointless to him, but watching her in pain, not being able to do anything felt like eternity of hell. He had to save her, even if the good of the one was greater than the many. She did not deserve to be in this pain, not when she fought so hard to help everyone, she should not have to bloody her hands like she had to call on these wretched things to gain some short, if momentary sense of gratification. He was already dead, damned to wander as a ghost because he did not cross over when he was supposed to. This was hell for him and he could not bear to continue this existence knowing that she was in annoy and he was powerless.

His rules or morals and ethics no longer applied now that he had died. His old life wasn't bound by the teachings he learned from Batman. He was nothing but a remnant of that person. He only had one thing tying him to this existence and she was in so much annoy, he wanted to do whatever he could to ease her pain...whatever it took.

_"Raven, accept the offer. I will do anything to help you, anything. I want to keep you safe,"_ said Robin, wanting so much to hold her.

"Robin? Are you sure...this could all go so wrong," whimpered Raven. She may not have cared what happened to her, but she would not allow anything more to happen to Robin, he had gone through a grizzly death because of her. He did not need to go through anything worse.

_"I don't care. If I can stay with you, then damn the consciences!"_ stated Robin with a serious tone.

Raven wrapped her arms around herself and gazed up at his ghostly form. "I-If you do come back...w-would you hold me in your arms like before?"

Robin kneeled down, trying to get as close as he could that the two circles would allow. He knew the demons were toying with him, allowing him to be seen and heard by Raven and could easily banish him whenever they wished it, but they hadn't. For whatever reason, they were allowing him this chance and he was going to use it. He had to tell her what he longed to tell her after he died, what he knew she needed to hear while she cried herself to sleep.

_"I will, Raven. I promise,"_ vowed Robin, then he looked at the demons around him. _"You heard me, I accept the offer."_

_**"Bind now! Bind now!"**_ all three demons shrieked, spinning madly around him. As they did, his image began to disappear.

Seeing this, Raven panicked in fear of losing him once again and reached out with her bleeding hand over the circle and tried to touch him. The demons did not waste any time. Robin felt himself being pushed toward Raven's hand and his face clamped down over her bloody palm, and he tasted. The first physical sensation he felt sense he died ran throughout his entire being and he let himself get lost by the powerful sense. The demons dove into his ghostly body and the entire room flashed and they were gone, along with Robin.

Raven screamed out his name and collapsed down on the floor, curling back up into a tight ball and crying mournfully, believing that it had all been a cruel trick and she had once again lost him. She crawled at her face and hair, screaming out his name repeatedly until her voice became hoarse and exhausting herself, then her mind shut down and she fell unconsciousness. The ordeal was just too much for her.

As she laid there on the floor, her body slowly rose up and she floated over to her bed, where she descended and the sheets were pulled up over her. A lock of her hair which had fallen over her face slowly moved back up, as if a hand was brushing it back...

* * *

A young man by the name of Mike Henson lounged in his recliner staring at the robes of his faith; a set of deep crimson robes with golden borders around the sleeves and hood. The Church of Blood had grown stronger and stronger each day since the new Brother Blood had taken his father's place. He was one of the lucky few that was found by the new Blood and given an honorable duty to locate and subdue the Bride of Blood, and had preformed his duty without flaw. It had been easy for him, really. All he had to do was watch where she went when she left the tower. Yes, he had to spend countless hours at the fishy smelling harbor, halfway freezing to death to analyze her pattern, but in the end it had paid off. He watched her when she left and followed her as best he could to wherever she went, from her little cafe shop on a corner, to the mall with the redheaded alien.

After watching her from the shadows, he had begun to worship her and pray to the powers that fueled Blood for the honor of revealing her true destiny to her. Now he knew she would not understand had he simply gone to her and explained her fate. She was still too young and was tricked by the machinations of this world to understand the truth. He had to think carefully to ensure she would be taken to her destiny, and he was proud of the well thought out plan he concocted. First, he had worked his way into the cafe, becoming an employee there and working there for three weeks until he was sure no one suspected him. There he waited until he was given the order from Brother Blood to retrieve her. When the order finally came, he slipped a sleeping drug into her tea and had one of the other employees deliver the tea to her. Timing it well, he knew the drug would not take effect for two hours, giving her plenty of time to leave the cafe and make her way back to her tower. He left the cafe and waited outside where once she was beginning to take flight, the drug kicked in and she fell unconsciousness.

Quickly, he grabbed her and stole her away in his van, taken secondary precautions as instructed by Brother Blood with her. He taped her mouth and bound her hands and feet and injected her with a special muscle-relaxer drug that Brother Blood had made especially for her. It would lax her muscles tendons, leaving her limp and unable to move at all should she awake and try to work her bonds free.

But before he drove off to take her to Brother Blood, he stopped and took a moment to admire the soon-to-be bride of his master. She was truly the perfect being to pair up to his master and could not have picked a better one in his entire lifetime. The thought of being so close to this perfect creature stirred an impulse in him that he could not control. This would be his only time alone with the bride and knew he would most likely never be this close to her again. Oh, he was not a fool. He was just a lowly follower, a faithful one, but he was still near the bottom of the chain. This was his one chance to touch divinity and relish it for his life. And so he did, he stroked her hair and took in the smell of her sweet skin, feeling the need to touch her grow stronger. He was careful as to not let himself give into his impulse. She was as sacred as his faith and he would not let his burning need spoil her, at least where it counted. For one, it would invoke the wrath of his master and he had no doubts he would meet a gruesome end should he learn of this intention. Yet, he had to at least sate himself before he lost control and ruined everything. it was maddening him just being this close to her.

He had prided himself of never giving in to his own desires, putting his faith toward Brother Blood before all else. Nothing could compare than to serving his master, but being this close to the chosen one of his master brought his suppressed instincts out and demanded to be satisfied. He was only mortal after all, which he hoped to one day ascend from once his master and bride marry and cleanse this world of all its impurities.

He smiled to himself in his chair as he remembered the moment. How he skillfully worked her leotard down and be rewarded with the sight of her flawless skin, to look upon her breasts and hold them in his very hands. His fingers worked around her warm mounds and kissed her darken nipples with passion that they deserved, for once thinking envious and negative feelings toward his master for having this beauty all to himself. He went no further than her chest as he did not trust himself to keep from going further and thus ruining her purity on his lord. His need burned all the same and he quickly solved this problem as he continued to caress her breasts. Working his hardened flesh out of his pants, he prayed once more to the powers for granting him this moment of bliss, and then wetting himself with his own saliva, he cupped her breasts in each hand and placed his flesh between them and gasped in ecstasy as her soft flesh graced his unworthy body. It had not taken too long for him to satisfy himself, having gone two times with her breasts, he worked himself off and found the greatest satisfaction he had ever felt in his life.

Once he had finished, he quickly cleaned her up as best he could until he was sure his action was unnoticeable on her body, then quickly put her leotard back in order over her, and finally drove her to meet her master and husband.

Things had gone well, Brother Blood did not suspect a single thing as he took his bride from him and began the marriage ritual that would bind them and fulfill the long awaited prophecy. He had begun consolidating the rite when she awoke and began to fight him. Thanks to the muscle-relaxer drug, her struggling hadn't put any damper for his master with continuing the rite. That was when her former companions arrived and the one that led them defiled the ritual by kicking his master away and touching the bride. Outraged, he took up the torch he had been holding during the ritual and rammed the spiky end through the blasphemes heathen's back. By that time, Brother Blood had regain his composure, he graced him with smile, nodding and being praised by his master for stopping the heretic. He then took care of the heathen himself and what a glorious sight of justice it was to watch his master punish the wicked Titan.

The torment had gone on for some time until his companions got to them and forced Brother Blood to end his punishment, cursing him and snarling at the heretics as they actually managed to force him to retreat.

After their escape, he was once more blessed as Brother Blood came to him directly and ordered him to once more capture his bride and bring her before him once more. Mike truly felt special and quickly accepted the duty once more. Not only had his master had trust in his abilities...but he would once more get to touch her divine body.

He smiled to himself as he already began planning out how he would get her and once more satisfy his needy flesh with her again. What could he say? He wasn't going to miss any opportunity he was given. Once more he would complete his mission and be rewarded with his master's praise....and his bride's skin.

A yawn suddenly erupted from him.

He looked over at his clock and saw it was getting late. Smirking in satisfaction, he stretched his limbs and made himself comfortable in his recliner. Tomorrow was going to be important as he had seen his master's bride leave the hospital, having camped near it to keep an eye on her until she wasn't being guarded. Sadly, the hospital had taken every precaution and made it impossible for him to get near her. That didn't slow him down, though. He knew sooner or later, she would be discharged and then she would be his for the taken...before he delivered her to his master.

A wide smile graced his face as he folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He was beginning to get relaxed, when suddenly, a loud noise jolted him awake.

"What the!?" uttered Mike as his eyes darted around his place for the source of the disturbance. Seeing nothing, he growled in irritation and started to relax once more in his recliner. A louder noise came and Mike sat right up in his recliner, pulling out the revolver he had hidden inside his recliner. "Whoever is in here better get the fuck out. I will kill you if you don't leave!"

He waited for a reply but nothing came. He cocked the revolver and quietly got off his recliner and eyed his living room, silently making his way the wall leading to his hallway. Whoever was dumb enough to break into his place was soon going to regret it. No one defied a worshipper of Blood and lived to tell the tale.

He made his way to his bedroom, finding nothing suspense there, then into the bathroom; again, nothing suspense. When he searched his whole apartment, he began berating himself for being so paranoid as to think someone had tried to break into it. It was probably his anxiety on his mission that was overworking his nerves. That must be the cause of it. Growling at himself, he went back to his recliner and was ready to sit in it...when a footstep echoed right behind him. Spinning around, he drew his revolver and fired three shots as he turned around.

"I got you, you son of...huh?" uttered Mike as he glared at nothing but an empty hallway. "W-What is going on? I knew for sure someone was there!"

His eyes darted around his apartment, trying in vain to see what was causing all these bizarre noises. A loud tapping arose from his balcony window. He aimed the revolver at the sliding door and ready to fire it. That is, he was about to fire it when he saw a familiar feminine figure outlined by moonlight outside his window. Staring in disbelief, he lowered his gun and walked over to the sliding-door.

"My lady?" muttered Mike as the feminine figure opened the sliding-door and stepped into his apartment.

"I know what you did," said the lavender-haired girl as she sauntered over to him. "You were a very naughty boy..."

Feeling fear of being discovered, he dropped the gun and kneeled down till his face touched the floor. "F-Forgive me, my lady. I know not what overcame me. I could not control my weak flesh within your presence."

Her heard her giggled and a small hand caressed his back.

"Yes, you should be sorry, using me like that and not giving me anything in return," cooed her voice in a playful manner.

Mike's eyes widened in shock and he slowly rose his face from the floor. "...If my lady wants...maybe I can correct that mistake?"

"Oh, I plan on correcting the mistake all right..." her voice suddenly took on a masculine, gravely tone. "Once I crave the pound of flesh from your hide!"

Mike shot his head up and screamed pathetically when a disfigured male face shifted from the once beautiful feminine one.

"It's time to pay, Mikey-boy!" crackled the disfigured man as he reached out and grabbed Mike by the head and lifted him completely off the floor.

He threw him clear across the living room into the small kitchen. Mike smashed against his refrigerator, feeling blood pour down the side of his face. His vision was blurred and he could not make out anything, not even the dark figure stalking its way toward him.

He felt strong hands grab him once more and slam him down on the kitchen floor. "You know what they say about naughty boys, Mikey! If you play with fire, you're gonna get burned!"

The oven door flew open, licking out with roaring hot flames.

"No! NO!" screamed Mike as he fought against his mystery attacker, clawing at the strong arms holding him down.

The figure roared with mad laughter and picked Mike up with graceful ease, grabbing the back of his collar and pants and aimed him head first at the flaming oven. "Let's see what's cooking. Oh, wait! THAT'S _YOOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!_"

Mike struggled wildly in vain in the air as he was tossed right into the oven, screaming madly as the fire danced on his flesh and melting his skin like hot wax. Instinctively, he tried to back out of the fire, but hands had pinned his legs down and with a twist snapped them just above his knees and pushed his broken legs into the oven, affectively trapping him in his fiery torment. The oven door was slammed closed, crushing the rest of him inside and held closed while the fires did their work on Mike's now roasting corpse.

The oven door was pulled open and the disfigured person smiled at the charred remains of Mike Henson. "Hmm, I think just a little too over well-done. _AHAHAHAHA!_"

The charred body glowed with a bluish-white light before it rose up and sailed into the disfigured man's body. He growled out as his whole being shook with unbelievable joy as the energy invigorated him. "Mmm, that's just the start...the real nightmare has yet to begun."

The next morning, a concerned neighbor smelt smoke coming from next door. He called the fire department and they soon arrived. When they burst open into the smoky apartment, they came upon the sight of a charred body and recliner in the living room. The forensic later found the legs had at some point been broken before or during the man's death, but there was no sign as to what caused it or any clues as to who may have done it. They did find a revolver hidden inside the cushion of the chair, the chamber completely loaded...

During the forensic search, the team found Mike's robes and smoking as well. When they laid it out to see the damage, hoping to find the cause of the fire, they found a message had been burnt on the back of the robes.

_'One, two, Ricky's coming for you_

_Three, four, Better lock the Door_

_Five, Six, Grab your Crucifix_

_Seven, eight, Gonna stay Awake_

_Nine, ten, Never...Sleep...AGAIN!!!' _

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, this one just poured out of me, I couldn't stop writing it until now. I normally don't like fanfics where Raven is at some point raped and used by the villain or others, but it fit into this and I think it will set the element I wish to pull from this story. This is my first attempt at something like this. Not even in my other fanfic 'Scarlet Embrace' have I gone to this level to bring out a dark, haunting image of the Titan-verse. Rest assured, this is only the beginning. Let me know what you all think and please keep an opened mind. Raven has just suffered a traumatic experience of not only being physically assaulted but also bore the loss of one of her closest friends. (I'm a RobinxRaven fan, I don't give a damn what the original canon says or states.) And even if it's not love, they still had an emotional and spiritual bond that tied them together, so his death would bring about an unstable reaction from Raven, adding in the incident. Yeah, you try staying sane after all that happened to you. Anyway, I would like to hear your opinion and any flames will just be used to fry the rest of naughty boy Mike's roasted corpse...._Hehehehehehehe!!!_

Till then...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Rightful claims belong to DC Comics/Cartoon Network and Wes Craven/New Line Cinema.

**A/N: **Always nice to see good reviews and hope to see more and more before too long.

* * *

**Romancing Killers**

Raven began to stir as her eyes opened slowly. Then she shot up, wide eyed, and looked frantically around her room, seeing the candles completely melted down to their holders, the magical circle burnt away from the affects of the spell, but everything else looked the same. She was totally alone in her room...the spell didn't work.

She started to cry as that cruel realization accord to her. She had not gotten Robin back. He was still dead and she was still left here with the pain and loss. She wanted to scream but her voice was too strained from her earlier outburst to make nothing more than a sobbing whimper. She collapsed down on her bed, beating her fist into her innocent pillow and rasping her rage. When she worked herself once more to exhaustion, she just laid there and wept silently.

"It didn't work..." whispered Raven roughly. "I'm still all alone."

"No, Raven. You're no longer alone," replied a gravely, familiar voice.

Raven jerked up and stared out into her room again. Standing at the foot of her bed was a figure in a ragged costume, with crimson stained bandages around random parts of his body, mainly around the stump that used to be his right hand. His face was hidden behind a smiling theatrical mask that looked oddly like the one that was on her statue. Darting her eyes over, she saw that the mask was no longer there, leaving the sad mask completely by itself. She looked upon the figure once more and her mouth slowly parted.

"R-Robin?" gasped Raven in hope.

The ragged hero nodded his head. "What's left of me..."

She crawling desperately to the edge of her bed and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Azar, it's you! It's really you!"

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as he could without hurting her. "Oh god, it's so good to feel again, to hold someone!"

"I thought you were gone forever!" wept Raven, burying her face in the nook of his neck.

"For a while, Raven. I'm back now and now I'm forever," replied Robin softly. He guided her down so they both could sit comfortably on her bed. "Those demons...they kept their promise and brought me back, but there is one serious issue that you need to know."

"W-What?" asked Raven, looking up into his masked face.

"This is a dream, Raven. You're asleep right now. Those demons, they were Dream Demons. In order to fulfill their pact, they changed me into a dream spirit...at least what was left of me into one." revealed Robin, holding up his stump to his eyes. "They couldn't return me to my original form...and I...I'm not strong enough yet to change back into what I looked like." He looked down at himself.

"So...when I wake up, you will be gone?" sighed Raven sadly, hugging him tighter.

"...Yes, I cannot be with you unless you're sleeping," grimaced Robin, using his remaining hand to pet her hair. "But there's more..."

"There is?" said Raven, enjoying the feeling of safety she so longed to receive, even if it would only last until she awoke.

"I have abilities now, Raven. I can do more than just walk around in dreams," his voice began to deepen and grow rougher. "I can do whatever I want in dreams as I grow stronger...and to anyone I wish."

"What do you mean?" wondered Raven.

"I can kill people within their dreams," hissed Robin.

"H-How do you know you can kill people in their sleep?" awed Raven in horror.

He looked away for a moment, as if ashamed...then he slowly turned back to her and the smile on his mask lengthened and glowing red dots appeared in the eyes of his mask.

"Because I just killed, Raven," said Robin, starting to shake with laughter. "I can find them, Raven. The ones that hurt you. I went into the dreams of the one that kidnapped you...and I made him pay." He refrained from telling her the disgusting act the cultist had performed on her unconsciousness body, she didn't need any more bad memories from that ordeal.

Raven started to pull away from him, gripping her sheets with shaky hands. "Y-You mean, you actually killed someone?"

"Oh, more than that!" crackled Robin, standing up spreading his arms out wide. "I roasted the pig! In his dream, I roasted him and he died...and it made me stronger, Raven! His death fueled me...and god, did it feel good!"

"R-Robin..." Raven was really beginning to feel scared now.

He crackled wildly as he threw his head back. "It was so easy, too! Here, in the dream world, I make the rules and when I want someone to die, they die for real in the real world." He fell onto his knees on her bed, crawling up to her.

In fright, she fell down on her back and instinctively started to crawl away from him. He hovered over her and followed her until she bumped her head on her headboard.

"I'm going to make them pay, Raven. All of them!" growled Robin. "I'm going to kill everyone in the Church of Blood and that bastard Brother Blood! I will make your dream come true!"

Raven wanted to reason with him, she knew she should reason with him and try to show what he had done was seriously wrong. He was acting like a monster! What stopped her from saying a word about it was the look in his shining eyes. There was a look of wanting, like he was waiting for her approval. Then she remembered what she had said in her fit of rage. She wanted them all dead and him alive...

"What have I done to you...?" cried Raven softly, reaching up a hand to stroke his masked face tenderly.

The mask changed, just like the fluid changes in someone's facial expression to one of confusion. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

She almost said no, it wasn't. Tell him that she never wanted people to die, it was wrong and it went against everything they had fought so hard to stop. But what stopped the people that committed the horrible acts like Brother Blood did? Who could make a powerful mad man like him pay for his sins? What's more, she remembered Cyborg filling in what he had done to her. He had wanted to fulfill another prophecy that involved her demonic father, bringing about another way for the end of the world. The maniac proved he would stop at nothing to accomplish his goal...and looked what had happened. He killed Robin and did unspeakable thing to her, and he was still out there, plotting on doing it all over again to her. It was only a matter of time...

She could not allow it to happen again. It was too horrible of an experience and she would not let him use her again, not for his twisted pleasures or her father's plan. Even defeated, his will could still reach out and reign destruction on every living thing. If that ever happened then what she went through would never compare to the horrors her father would reap on every soul on this world.

But out of her rage, she called upon demons and turned her friend, her dead teammate into this crazed killing monster...all because of her. She was to blame for his condition and the death of a human being. It was then as she thought about the person Robin killed that she remembered what he said about him. Robin could have killed any random member of the cult, but he went after the one that was responsible for her falling into the hands of Brother Blood. He made him pay as he promised and he kept his word to her. He had held her once more and was here with her, even if this was all a dream, who cared? He was back and that was all she wanted.

"Raven...did I make a mistake?" whispered Robin, signs of guilt reflecting on his porcelain mask.

His voice drew her out of her thoughts and a smile cracked over her blank, dead expression. "No, Robin...you did as you promised. You kept your promise to me, that's all I had wanted."

His mask grinned wildly. "My promise isn't complete yet, Raven. I only just started. There are still more of them out there and Brother Blood himself! He will pay, Raven, for everything...I will get them all...for you."

"Robin, I'm being selfish...but make me one more promise," pleaded Raven, sitting up some and taking his head into her hands.

"What, Raven?" replied Robin, touching her hand with his only hand.

"Don't let what you've become change you completely into something horrible," said Raven, leaning her face close to his mask to lock her eyes in his, or what she believed to be his eyes.

"I promise, Raven...I-It's hard remembering what's right and wrong. I can't seem to care or feel any guilt over killing that man," admitted Robin.

"Then I'll help you remember. I'll be there for you as you've been here for me," vowed Raven in a hushed tone, not really aware that she was stroking his mask and leaning her face closer to him.

"R-Raven? I'm not the same anymore...b-but don't tell the others what I'm doing," said Robin. "I don't care if they learn that I killed, but I don't want them to ask how I got this way...If they find out how...you'll be locked away!"

"I know I'm responsible for your condition, Robin. I'm the one that made you kill," said Raven, quieting down with fingers gently running over his mask's smile. "I'll take responsibility..."

"No!" cried Robin, grabbing her and hugging her body to his. "I won't stand by again and watch you helplessly be treated badly." He laid his head on her shoulder and his body began to shake. "I can't let that happen again. You don't deserve it..."

"Robin..." whispered Raven, curling against his body, so overwhelmed by his devotion. "I didn't think you cared this much."

He shook even more and ran his hand through her hair. "I always have, Raven. You mean so much...more than I realized when I was alive. It was these feelings that kept me crossing over, it was my...desire to stay with you that overcame Death herself from taking me."

"Her? You mean Death is a woman?" uttered Raven in amazement.

"Heh, yeah, shocked me, too...but then she told me she took on the form that would make whoever saw her more comfortable," revealed Robin.

"...Oh, so she must have looked like a redhead," grumbled Raven.

Robin's mask smiled widely once more. "Wrong, she looked liked you..."

"Say what?" gawked Raven, not believing what she just heard.

"She looked like you to comfort me...but maybe had she used Starfire's appearance, I would have crossed over. Hell, if she looked like one of my parents or brother, I'd have gone. But seeing you, seeing your face made me want to stay with you all the more, and I could not cross over," said Robin, petting her hair more. "She told me that the only thing that could keep her from taking me to the other side was..."

She didn't have to ask him to finish what he was trying to say. She knew exactly what he was talking about and her heart pounded in her chest wildly.

"I never thought...you never showed you cared so much for me," said Raven with disbelief, really taken for a loop. "You were with Starfire...why were you with her that whole time?"

"W-Well, you see. She was my first kiss," revealed Robin. "She was my first love, I never had anyone give me those kind of affections...and I'm-was, a teenager, hormones are a bitch to deal with, so I just thought she was gonna be the one...but then after everything we've been through, with Slade and The Brotherhood of Evil...and with Trigon. I started feeling something different for you." He pulled back to sit on her bed, pulling her into his lap and keeping his arms around her. "I can't explain it, I just had felt closer to you than anyone. It just kept growing and growing. I thought it was just our bond of friendship, but it wasn't. It was true..love. I probably would have realized it when I was alive, but something always happening...I had Starfire with me almost every moment of the day...it was like I just couldn't focus on anything but her sometimes. It was kinda weird..." He lowered his face, indicating that he was thinking deeply. "Like something was making me go to her all the time, but that feeling always disappeared when you were in danger. Those few moments we had alone, I remember every detail, your expressions, your tone of voice, how you'd blush when I could get a smile out of you...wait, that's right. I used to make you smile...why did I stop?"

Now that she thought about it, when they first started out as a team, Robin would spend his time individually with all of them equally. He stopped doing that over time and seemed to be literally glued to Starfire whenever there weren't criminals to fight. It was one of the reasons she never thought he could feel anything more than friendship for her. Also, Starfire had a powerful charisma about her and it was hard not to pay attention to the cheerful alien.

"I dunno. Things just changed the more time you spent with Starfire," replied Raven finally.

"Yeah..." murmured Robin, his mask shifting into a wondering expression.

"How are you doing that?" asked Raven curiously.

"Do what?" replied Robin, returning his attention to her.

"The mask, it moves like your face would when you wanna express something," said Raven, pointing at his masked face.

"Really?" He touched his face and he smiled, and instantly felt the mouth of the mask move to match his. "Wow, I guess I can affect things more than I thought." He smiled more as his eyes shined. "I guess, I have more of an effect on things than I thought."

"That might come in handy during your mission," said Raven.

"Yes, wait...my mission?" uttered Robin.

Raven shifted herself and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, your mission. To stop Brother Blood and end the Church of Blood once and for all..."

His mask's smile widened even more and she could have sworn that it parted slightly, flashing rows of sharp teeth. "Maybe I can use some things to help my appearance...at least until I can get strong enough to retain my original looks."

Raven thought for a moment and wiggled out of his lap and made her way to her things. "Maybe I got some things that'll help...but let's keep that scary image of your's...it's a good look for you."

"Oh, you like me like this, huh?" said Robin with a teasing voice.

Raven looked back at him over her shoulder with an alluring look. "Maybe..."

She looked at her things and started picking whatever caught her eye. "Some of this stuff you can thank Beast Boy. He loves Halloween...one of the few things that he and I had in common." She took a red wide-brim fedora hat and a black overcoat with thin red stripes, leather pants and a red dress shirt. "I think this will do nicely, but I'm not sure about the size...might be too small. After all, some of this stuff belonged for him that he let me borrow them for some of our Halloween parties."

Robin moved over to her and waved his hand over the clothes and they vanished from her arms. His clothes began to shift and the clothes appeared on him, fitting him just perfectly; the front rim of his fedora curved out and curled to the right, giving the impression of a claw. He kept the mask on and the bandages around his head and boots, but they too changed. His mask changed to look more like an evil smile with sinister eyes, sharpening at the edges, molding to match his real face, the bandages turned crimson red. The boots shot out silver spikes from where the bolts were implanted and the material morphed to a thicker type of leather.

He raised his hand up theatrically as he bowed. "How do I look?"

"Dashingly wicked," answered Raven with a pleased purr.

He grinned and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms and raised his right arm out of habit and tried to stroke her face; only then did he forget that he didn't have a hand there anymore.

"Fuck, I wish I could get my hand back," grumbled Robin, glaring at the offensive stump.

"...How did you lose it?" asked Raven, placing both hands at the end of his stump.

Her touch was soothing and he wrapped his hand over hers and taking a step close to her. "...You can thank Brother Blood for everything that happened to me, except for the puncture wound in my back, that was from the same guy that kidnapped you. He messed me up really bad, Raven." He turned his face away from hers. "I...I don't want you to see just how ruined I am until I can get strong enough to fix it."

She brought their hands up and she kissed the back of his bandaged stump. "You're still the handsome, spiky headed Boy Blunder I always cared for."

He chuckled at her nickname for him when he did something dumb. It never got on his nerves at all. In truth, he found it endearing that Raven kept using it to tease him sometimes, like now.

"All-in-all...I don't want you seeing the state I'm in, it would be too much," said Robin, staring at his stump. "This I need to fix right now. I managed to make a hand to use when I killed that bastard, but it took way too much focus to keep it."

"Hmm, since you can affect that mask without thinking, maybe you could use a glove or something like it until you can," suggested Raven.

"That's a good idea. I've got just the thing..." He snapped his fingers and her room vanished around them, melting into a whole new room...his room.

He made his way to a wall in his room and tapped it three times. A rectangular section of the wall pulled in before sliding to the side, revealing a hidden room. With Raven, they entered the hidden room and Raven spotted diagrams and mechanical equipment and a large super-computer.

"What is this place?" wondered Raven out loud.

"This...is where I constructed the Red X suit," answered Robin, walking over to what looked like a shelf. He tapped a button and it slid open for him, revealing gloves and weaponry. "I kept some of the proto-types I thought to use before deciding exactly what I wanted to use for the Red-X suit."

He took a pair of black gloves with talons ending at the fingers and some weaponry, and like the clothes Raven gave him, they vanished and reappeared on him. Raven was happy to see that the right glove had attached to his arm. He flexed it and smiled in satisfaction when the claws lengthened out to five inches.

"Glad to see my idea for extended claws will come in handy," joked Robin, looking over his shoulder at Raven.

"Quite literally," said Raven, suppressing a giggle.

"Don't do that," said Robin.

"Don't do what?" asked Raven, raising her left eyebrow.

"Suppress your emotions," replied Robin quickly as he turned to her. "This is the dream world, Raven. Here...anything can be possible. You don't have to lock up your feelings here. You can be free to express any of them."

Her eyes widen in disbelief. The thought of being free of her uncontrollable powers influence was just too good to belief, not even in her...wildest dreams?

"I...I never thought that I could try, even when I slept," gawked Raven at the simplicity of it.

He came over to her and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly against his body. "Anything is possible when you dream, Raven. Those monks that raised you didn't know jack shit! And before you ask, I can read your mind in here, that's how I knew about which cultist was the kidnapper, that's how I'll find all the others...It's how I'll know the best way to _kill_ them when I come for them."

"If you can read my mind, then how can you know the monks?" wondered Raven. "Those would be from my memories, not their own."

"I might have died and become undead, but I haven't lost any of my skills when I was a hero," retorted Robin. "I can still read people from observing their mannerisms and their behavior, and looking into your memories is just as good as watching them with my own eyes." He stroked her cheek with his palm. "...And they were just fucking around."

"H-How?" gasped Raven, looking on the edge of tears.

"They were the ones that told your mother of the prophecy, right? Wouldn't it be smart to do any and all to hamper the tool that would bring about Trigon's reign on earth and their own realm?" questioned Robin. "Wouldn't they want to keep the key bent and broken to keep it from fitting in the lock it was made for? They were fucking with your training, Raven! You're a being of demonic and human origins...and human will can always overcome a demon's. They made you suppress your human side enough so you'd fear your demonic blood and keep you inhibited so you wouldn't dear to see what you could really become with them."

"T-That's speculation!" stumbled Raven, not wanting to believe the people that raised her would do that to her, but then again..."Robin, if that is the case, if they were afraid of me...why didn't they just kill me when I was born?"

Robin chuckled and shrugged. "I dunno...that's something you'll have to ask your mother about...I believe she has all the answers. Or if you wish, I could always go get them myself..."

"No!" shouted Robin, pushing away from him. "...D-Don't do anything to her."

"I wasn't planning on killing her, Raven. I want to only kill every single member of the Church of Blood and it's new leader. Anyone else is of no interest to me. I only offered so I can get the right answers from her...mothers do lie after all to keep their children safe from harmful bits of reality," replied Robin in his old, calm tone.

"Y-You promise you won't kill her?" pleaded Raven.

"I promise to you, and only to you, Raven, that I will not kill whoever you tell me not to," worded Robin. "But don't misunderstand...I will kill...and I will keep doing it until every bastard and bitch that hurt you has met a grisly end. And if there are people that wish to get in my way...well, then that's their mistake."

"Then I don't want you anywhere near her. She's my mother...she's the only family I got," cried Raven softly.

"Family?" grunted Robin, his mask sneering some. "From what I saw, it was more like acquaintances. She lingered far from you, watching you like an animal that would strike at any moment. I never saw her hug you, kiss your forehead, tell you all the monsters weren't real. She did the opposite, didn't she?"

Robin collapsed to her knees, holding herself and trying not to cry. "...She told me everything about Trigon...how he...r-raped her...told me that demons were very real...always warning me about my powers. Oh, Azar, please stop it Robin...I don't want to think badly of her!"

"I don't either, Raven," said Robin, kneeling down to her and once more taking her into his arms tenderly. "But there was more going on than she has let on. I don't want whatever that is to end up hurting you, I vowed when I made that pact with the Dream Demons that I would protect you from any kind of hurt, Raven, and I meant any kind. I won't allow you to suffer any more than you have as long as I exist!" He cradled her against his chest, wrapping her close in his arms. "Please, let me see what she really thought. I promise not to harm her, only gather the truth from her."

Raven closed her eyes and buried her face on his bandaged neck, her tears soaking them. "Okay, Robin...I trust you."

"Always Raven..." whispered Robin, and his mask's eyes closed and he leaned and 'kissed' the top of her head, then sighed. "It's almost dawn...you'll wake up in a few moments. Just remember when you wake up...I'll still be here waiting for you."

Raven gripped onto him tightly. "Don't go..."

"That's the one thing I can't help, Raven. I have to stay here in the dream world. Only here do I have the power to bring justice to Brother Blood and his followers," said Robin softly, snapping his fingers and the room melted away, then reformed into Raven's room.

He picked her up and carried her to the bed and placed her on it. She reluctantly let go of him as he pulled away but he dragged his gloved and over her arm and stopped at her hand and she felt something soft inside it. When he pulled his gloved hand away, she opened hers to find his old domino mask in it.

"Robin?"

"Keep holding that...when you wake up, that'll let you know that this wasn't just a trick of your mind," said Robin as he back away from her bed, the room around him slowly darkening and fading away. "...I'll be here whenever you sleep, Raven. Just remember...I'm here for you."

Then everything faded into darkness...and Raven woke up.

She blinked her sleepy eyes before coming alert and looking around her room anxiously. "Robin!"

There came no reply from the Boy Wonder, only silence as he said would follow. She placed her hands over her face and started to cry softly...but when she felt a soft material touch her face, she gasped and looked into her hands. Laying in her opened palms, was the mask that Robin promised would be with her...his proof to her that everything she dreamt was real.

"Oh, Robin..." whispered Raven happily. "It wasn't fake...you were real, you came back to me." She sobbed happily and curled herself into a tight ball, squeezing the mask. "Get them...them all, Robin..."

* * *

**A/N: **And so begins a descent of blood and terror...who will be next...and what has Raven's mother really behind? Time will tell...and there will be a reckoning for all who have ignited the wrath of the fallen hero.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans or A Nightmare on Elm Street. Rightful claims belong to DC Comics/Cartoon Network and Wes Craven/New Line Cinema.

**A/N: **I'm really glad to see that people have enjoyed this fanfic as much as I had fun writing it. Sorry for the lack of update, been busy and nearly finished with the novel I'm working on currently. Hopefully it will be out in the stores this coming fall and I look forward to hearing from my readers when it does. Now enough of this small talk, it's time to get this horror flick running again, so without further ado...It's showtime!

**xXx**

**Bloody Dreams**

Raven surprised everyone when they awoke. They found her in the gym kicking one of the wooden posts used for combat training. Robin had used it repeatedly after he returned from his quest to seek The Master. Cyborg was just thinking about removing the post that morning since none of them ever used them, or needed to use them. When they approached her, they all noted that Raven had forgone her black leotard and was now sporting red shorts with a black sport's-bra and medical tap wrapped around her hands, arms, and around her shins and ankles. The two boys thought it was dangerous for Raven to be using Robin's equipment, thinking she'd seriously hurt herself if she continued, but before either of them could try to stop her, Starfire floated over to Raven and stopped her leg.

"Wait…" Starfire said quietly.

Raven stared at her hollowly until she saw Starfire tightening the tape around her ankle.

"Robin always said that if you were too generous with the looseness of the bindings, you'd be doing more harm to yourself than good," Starfire said, finishing tying up the spot and released her leg.

Raven remained quiet but a glimmer of her old self flashed through her eyes before she resumed kicking the post. Starfire floated back over to the boys and silenced whatever protests either may have.

"She has had no outlet for the pain she was forced to endure. And she is using this to strengthen herself, we would be making it worse if we tried to stop her now," Starfire said calmly to her friends.

Cyborg tried to think of a reasonable argument but the stern look in the redhead's eyes halted any he could make.

"Let her do what she needs to do, my friends," Starfire said firmly. "…I know I would want to make myself stronger if something like _that_ was done to me."

"Yeah…but let's keep an eye on her, okay?" Cyborg relented.

"I'll see to it that she doesn't over do it," Starfire said, taking it upon herself to watch over Raven's unexpected new training.

"All right, I'll be on the comm to the other Titans, updating them of Raven's situation. Call me if you need me," Cyborg said, jerking a thumb behind him, then grabbed Beast Boy's collar. "Come on, elf-boy. You're gonna go get us pizza."

"Why do I gotta be delivery boy?" Beast Boy whined.

"Because, it's your turn and I'm tired of seeing you mope in front of the T.V. just playing your video games, now go!" Cyborg nearly shouted, grinning at his green friend playfully and throwing him out of the gym. "And don't forget to get the triple-meat special!"

"Ah man!" Beast Boy whining came from the hallway.

Cyborg smiled broadly at a giggling Starfire and waved. "I'll see ya in while." He then departed from the gym.

Starfire's smile slowly fell from her lips as she turned to regard Raven. She could not read her friend as she once could; something had closed off her ability to read her actions. It felt lonely to see her closest female friend be so distant from them and yet is standing right there before her, kicking the post as if that was the only important thing in the world.

If she only knew how right she was…

Raven hadn't chosen to just curl up in her room and hope she would get sleepy so she could see Robin again. She knew it would work on her nerves if she waited for her body to require sleep. She needed to keep herself busy and she needed to do something that would physically exhaust her so her body would allow herself to sleep for a long period of time. So kicking this post to death was very important to her. She never was that good when it came to physical stamina, so it wouldn't take too much for this workout to tire her out, and it was better to be hitting something rather than lay in a bed like she had been for the past two months, staring at a boring ceiling and wondering why she should keep going on.

Now she had a reason. And even more, she had the one person that meant the world to her back in her life…sort of.

It was still better than not having him back at all and still dead and floating invisibly as he had since he was killed. That was a torment she could not stand to have Robin go through again, to be unseen and unheard by all that knew you…

A faint smirk rose from her mouth as she imagined that kind of torture inflicted on the one that deserved it most. _'Just a matter of nights now, Blood. Once my Robin, my precious one, is strong enough…and when I'm strong enough. We're both coming after you and make you suffer for all the pain that you're caused everyone,'_ Raven thought darkly, motivating her to kick the post harder than before, not caring that faint red stains were starting to spot her shin wrappings. They would heal, any physical damage can be repaired and toughen up, and she wanted to be strong. She wanted to be stronger than her attacker and his cult so she may put an end to his influence forever…_'Just a matter of nights, Blood…you will pay the piper.'_

**xXx**

Just on the other side of town, a brunette and her friend were riding on a bus back to the mall. They were talking lively and excitedly, like any normal young girl, and seemed to be just having a normal time. The brunette had a marvelous day with her friend so far. They both had a nice jog together and had gotten their pay-checks yesterday and were going to see what they could get into at that mall.

"So, are you and Mike gonna hook up tonight?" her friend had asked her.

"I dunno…he hasn't called me yet," the brunette replied, brushing her hair idly behind her ear. "We were supposed to get together later today…"

"Oh, yeah! For that group session you guys are in, right?" her friend remarked.

"…Yeah, that session," the brunette murmured. "We had planned to see each other before heading out to it."

"Well, maybe he got caught up with something. You might hear from him soon," her friend tried to reassure.

"For his sake, he better!" the brunette joked, slouching some in her seat then rubbed her eyes. "Man, I should have gone to bed earlier last night…"

"Why did you stay up so late last night for, Ginny?" her friend asked.

"…Just some paperwork that needed to get done at the office," the brunette known as Ginny replied offhandedly.

"Man that blows…well, why don't you take a nap right now, I'll wake you when we get to the mall, okay?" her friend suggested, smiling pleasantly.

"That sounds good…my eyes are already starting to feel tired," Ginny said, yawning somewhat at the end.

She started to make herself as comfortable on the smelly bus as she could, using her friend's shoulder as a pillow and was about to close her eyes…when the bus suddenly jerked to the right.

"What the hell?" Ginny shouted, grabbing a hold of her friend and looking around the bus. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm, something might be wrong with the driver…" an unfamiliar, male voice replied.

Ginny looked to her friend, from which the voice emitted from, and cried out in fright when she came face to face with a sinister smiling mask instead of her friend's smiling one.

"Who the fuck are you!" Ginny demanded, throwing herself away from the masked stranger, noting that he was dressed in a weird red and black suit.

He pointed a taloned hand at himself. "Me? You sure ask a lot of questions. Aren't you more concerned with the driver?"

Ginny glared at him and looked quickly at the driver and stared in horror. The reason she had was because the bus driver was looking right at her with dead, lifeless eyes as his neck was twisted around enough for his face to completely stare at her blankly. She shrieked and fell out of her seat.

"We gotta get off this bus!" Ginny cried, trying to stand back up only to fall back down when the bus suddenly jerked to the side again.

"Really? I think this ride is just starting to get fun!" the masked stranger giggled insanely.

He hopped out of the seat and marched right up to the dead bus driver and literally ripped him out of his seat, leaving the lower half of his body remaining in the driver's seat.

"Here, hold this!" he said offhandedly, throwing the remains of the driver's upper body at her.

It landed right on her and she screamed even more and started batting at it wildly. "Get off me, get off me!"

The masked man slowly turned to her; red dots of dark red light gleamed from his mask's eye sockets. "Funny…that's exactly what _she_ said."

"W-What? What the hell are you talking about? Get this fucker off me!" Ginny demanded, trying to push the corpse off her, yet it was heavier than it should have been. "Why won't this thing get off me?"

As she started trying to get a leg between her and the corpse to kick it off, the corpse came alive and its arms wrapped themselves around her, pinning her arms to her sides and the head turned slowly, making a bone crushing, sloppy sound and smiled at her dementedly.

Her scream became higher pitched as she struggled against the corpse.

"She said the same damn thing…over…and over again to Blood," the masked man growled, stomping over to her and pressing his foot on the corpse's back, flatting her underneath the dead body. "But did he listen? Oh, no…no, no. You were the one that tied her bounds to that table…you were the one that ripped her clothes off to present her to Brother Blood, Ginny."

Ginny froze. "W-What are you t-talking about? I have no idea who this Brother Blood i-is."

"Oh I know for a fact you do, Ginny…I know how you secretly long to be close to him like how our friendly driver here is," the masked man grinned manically. "It's so cute that even the lowest of shit-stains can have a crush on an even bigger shit-stain."

Her eyes grew cold and hard. "Brother Blood will find you…he will make you suffer for raising a hand against one of his most devoted servants, you asshole."

The masked stranger roared with laughter, throwing his head back and slapping his stomach heartily. He rose his foot and slammed it down on the body, forcing the dead weight to press down hard on her sharply. "That bastard has already done what he could to me…but now I'm back and no one is gonna stop me, not him, not anyone…I am forever." he whispered the last bit as he brought his head back to her, leaning his masked face down to her.

"Brother Blood is all powerful, the new god to the coming of a new age. You are just some masked freak! He will come and find you and he will kill you and all who are dear to you! You can do nothing! Now release me before you bring his wrath upon you!" Ginny sneered.

"You forgot something," he said, his mask smiling wickedly.

"And what's that?" Ginny growled up at him.

"No one is still driving the bus," he chuckled, looking up to the front of the bus.

Her expression horrified just before the bus smashed into something hard. She and the masked stranger went flying out of the bus, feeling glass cut at her skin before it was grinding off her when she hit the concrete road. She rolled to a bloody halt, moaning in agony as shards had been buried deeper in her flesh as she turned to sit up. When she looked for the masked stranger, she found him standing above her, looking down at her with that smile widening bigger.

"Have a nice ride?" he snickered down at her.

"F-Fuck you," she moaned.

"You're not my type," he grunted, turning away from her and started walking away. "Oh…by the way, you might wanna try and move."

"W-Why?" she asked painfully.

He pointed up above his head. "Because we hit a light post…snapped it right off and it's flying right over us…and it should land right about…"

Ginny jerked her head up just in time to see the ruined end of the light post come sailing down at her like a metal missile and pierced straight through her chest.

"…Now," he giggled, reaching out his taloned hand to the now dead girl, feeling her soul be yanked from her corpse and rush into him. He doubled over and sighed in relish. "Fuck, that feels good…hehehe, two down…and so many more to go!" He flexed his none-existing hand, feeling more sensation than before come from it. "…I'll be whole soon at this rate, just a few more…"

**xXx**

In the news, a report about a bizarre death in a bus incident circulated about how a young girl inexplicitly died after a massive wound inflicted in her sternum exploded for no explainable reason. The police had talked to one of the passengers who knew the deceased girl and she told them that all that happened. Her friend had fallen asleep on her shoulder, and then suddenly began thrashing around, falling out of her seat and then spasmed out onto the floor, squirming uncontrollably and just as she moved to help her friend, she flung herself out of the back through the back window-door, where she then died after her chest erupted and left a gory-scene for local authorities to clean up. Forensic experts have yet managed to identify the cause of this mysterious death, but one had commented that it was as if something had impaled this girl right before she died as signs of the caved-in ribs at the center of her chest were very evident. Yet there was no sign of any object that could have inflicted such damage around or near the girl at the moment of her strange death.

**xXx**

A screen was instantly smashed right after the news report by a bone impaling it and a lone figure, sitting on a pile of bones crafted into a horrifying throne, leaned back and fumed silently to himself. His skull-covered head shadowed the look of rage over a rather youngish, pale skinned teenager, his lips pulled back in a snarl. He was dressed much like his father when he led the Church of Blood, save for the blue tight clothes he wore underneath his red tunic, where's his father had been black.

The new leader of the Church of Blood, the young Brother Blood was boiling with impatience.

He was denied his moment of destiny when the meddlesome Teen Titans had stolen his bride away from him, and to make things worse, he was forced to withhold his goals when she was locked away from him. Granted, it was just a trifle matter to him to just storm in there and take what belonged to him, but that would expose him too much to the world like his father foolishly did. He had chosen instead to bide his time like he had growing up, waiting for the right moment to strike…as he did when he ripped out what his father had replaced for internal organs with when he allowed himself to be cybernetically enhanced. Good lot that did him. He still died pathetically when he finally got his hands on him and tore him into tiny pieces, mashing every fleshy bit that was left of his poor father, then he had the rest him melted down to make his bedpost, using the few bones that remained to construct the throne he sat upon.

No, he would be the smarter Brother Blood and wait until the perfect moment presented itself again. He had one of his most promising followers begin her re-capture, the same one that had brought her to him the first time. He had no doubt the faithful follower would succeed again for him, but then he learned that he died. Burnt to a blackened skeleton in his own apartment. This did not please him at all. All the faithful were expendable should the need arise to further his plans, but those that had proven themselves capable did receive his favor. To learn one of those that he liked was killed was a stab at him, at the new Brother Blood!

At first, he thought it was his bride. He was well aware of her release from the hospital back to that accursed tower. It was just some time later that the news of his follower was killed, and he suspected the bride was seeking revenge for the 'rump' they had started. That same night, he thought he sensed a tingle of demonic power, but he could not place where or what exactly it was. He theorized she had performed some kind of locator spell, not wishing to use her Soulself to look for him as he could very well handle that particular ability of hers. Then nothing. The tingle was gone and he was left wondering if he had imagined it. When he got the report, he then knew she did do something after all. What, he still could not understand as there was no longer a trance of that power, and right after that, his favored follower died, and just now, another one of his had died.

It was all too much of a coincidence. Someone was coming after his followers, murdering them in unexplainable ways. But as he thought more about what had killed his followers…he licked his lips.

He was Brother Blood, the strongest to ever walk the earth and if anything bled, he could make himself stronger. Blood was the life they said. Blood was the key power of all the Brother Blood's strength. The only frustrating thing was if whatever was indeed killing his people was a person or a thing, or something in-between. If it turned out to be his bride doing all the killings, that would just be something he would train her out of once he made her his wife. After all, it would not do to kill all their servants, who would be around to do all the menial work then? He just needed to bide his time for now, like he always had and wait for the opportunity to make itself known.

**xXx**

She finally exhausted herself. After hours of kicking and punching those training posts, Raven was thoroughly sore and aching all over. She was thankful she wasn't mentally tired to levitate herself to the showers and clean all the sweat and stink off her body, and then get herself back to her room to lie down on her bed. Everything else was pushed out of her mind as she snuggled against the sheets and felt her eyes grow heavy the moment her head touched the pillow. She was somewhat anxious. She still was unsure that everything that had happened was not just in her head, some twisted psychological mind-trick to help her mentality handle the trauma she had endured when she was raped. She hoped that she wasn't making it all up, and then she felt her body relax when she felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her, she smiled in relief.

A gloved hand stroked the side of her face and she felt a body press itself up behind her and spooned into her frame, then a gentle, if somewhat scratchy voice said, "I said I would keep my promises, Raven…always believe that."

Raven swooned against his body and sighed happily as tears began to build up in her eyes. Now she was in the dream world with him, she could be herself, entirely. She cried out the sorrow that she had bottled out after the assault, she sobbed her heart out and was soon just screaming her lungs out to rid herself of all the pent up anger she was not able to unleash, what she could not vent out with beating on that post. She had no idea how long she cried or hollered like a mad beast, she just wanted to get it out her. Robin, all that time, held her close to him, only whispering into her ear encouraging words, promising over and over again that he was there for her, he would always be. Eventually, Raven tired herself out, even though she knew she was sleeping, her dream-state was completely done in after all the weeping. Robin shifted the dream so they both were resting underneath her sheets and changed them so that to her mind, they would be the softest, most comfortable material she never experienced. He then wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks when she turned around to face him, wrapping herself back around him with her arms and even her legs, interlocking them around his.

He stroked her hair and silently watched as she took comfort from his embrace. The angelic look on her face now had moved him in such a way that he did not care what he had become now; if he had doubts before. Just seeing the look of serenity on her instead of the anguish he was forced to bear as a ghost had been worth becoming a monster. The killings he had performed and the ones he had planned did nothing to weigh his conscious, and never would if it brought her this much peace. If all it took was for him to become the devil himself to protect this dark beauty in his arms, then he figured it was well worth the price.

"I love you, Robin," Raven murmured sleepily.

Robin was not at all shocked by those words. He already knew she did, he knew everything as a dream spirit. But it still made whatever he had left of a heart swell up inside his chest. "I love you, too…"

Nothing would separate them now. They had found each other again and would remain together, they both understood that. If the world decided they had to be split apart, then the world was in for untold pain…and the world had much to fear now that the two hearts had given into darkness—and were welcomed warmly by it.


End file.
